


A List Of Foolish Choices

by LadyTabatha



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Battlefield, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, battlefield conversations, fe3h spoilers, in addition to the death of the major character, takes place on the crimson flower route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25006045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTabatha/pseuds/LadyTabatha
Summary: “Fine, then. Kill me. Just one more thing to add to your list of stupid mistakes.” He closed his eyes and waited for the end.The end, however, didn’t come yet. “What do you mean, my ‘list of stupid mistakes’?” Her voice was cold with fury.“Oh, her Imperial-ness doesn’t like to hear the truth?”She ground her teeth in anger at the casual mockery, but lowered her axe. “I’m serious, Claude. What could you possibly mean by that? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’mwinningthis war. Soon, the corrupt Church will be destroyed and the Empire will finally be whole again. Everything will be as it should.”-----There are a few flaws in Edelgard's grand plan. Claude explains them to her as he bleeds out on the streets of Derdriu.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	A List Of Foolish Choices

Claude cursed under his breath as he stumbled backwards. He’d made the mistake of dismounting Mervarid to face Edelgard, and now his left leg was wounded. Badly. He sank to the ground and raised his hands in surrender as Edelgard stalked forward. 

“Okay, I surrender. If you don’t kill me, I swear to leave Fodlan entirely and never return. There’s nothing left here for me anyway.”

She frowned down at him. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Claude. You’ve given me no reason to trust you, and you’re too dangerous for me to leave alive.” She raised her axe to deliver the finishing blow.

“Fine, then. Kill me. Just one more thing to add to your list of stupid mistakes.” He closed his eyes and waited for the end.

The end, however, didn’t come yet. “What do you mean, my ‘ _list of stupid mistakes_ ’?” Her voice was cold with fury.

“Oh, her Imperial-ness doesn’t like to hear the truth?”

She ground her teeth in anger at the casual mockery, but lowered her axe. “I’m serious, Claude. What could you possibly mean by that? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m _winning_ this war. Soon, the corrupt Church will be destroyed and the Empire will finally be whole again. Everything will be as it should.”

He cracked one eye open to stare at her in disbelief. “That. That, right there, is exactly what I’m talking about. _You_ might see it as the Empire becoming whole, but I can promise you that _no one else_ sees it that way. They see a ruthless conqueror, brutally invading their nation.”

“But it was the Church who divided the Empire in the first place!”

“ _If_ that’s true, and I highly doubt it, it _still doesn’t matter_! _They_ don’t think of themselves as part of the Empire. The lords of Leicester are accustomed to governing themselves. The people of Faerghus love their king. Did you really think that they would just blindly accept your rule?”

Her stunned silence implied that she had believed exactly that. He laughed, bitterly, incredulously.

“And maybe, impossibly, you prove charismatic enough to unify them. That still leaves one tiny problem. Your hair.”

“My… hair?”

“I had lots of time to talk with Lysithea-” he swallowed hard, remembering the way she had screamed as she died- “over the past five years of war. Tactics, and all that. One day she told me about some strange people who performed experiments on her, saying that was the reason her hair was white.”

“So, she too…” Edelgard’s voice trailed off.

“She also said it was the reason why she was so impatient: her lifespan had been shortened dramatically. I take it you went through the same experience? How long do _you_ have left to live? Not long enough to create a lasting unity, I’d bet.”

“But-” 

“And internal strife is just the beginning! I’m sure you know how Holst Goneril doted on his little sister. You’ll have to kill him, because he’ll never stop trying to kill you once he finds out that she’s dead. Especially when he learns how it happened- burning alive is a terrible way to go. And Holst is the only thing keeping the Almyrans from invading. Once they sense weakness, they’ll come pouring in across the Throat.” He could feel the hysteria setting in. The wound must have been worse than he thought: at this rate, the blood loss would kill him before Edelgard would.

“Nevertheless, I will prevail, for my cause is just. I would do anything to secure a better future for this land.”

He laughed again. “No, you wouldn’t! You say that, but what you mean is that you’ve picked a path and you’ll walk it to the end, no matter how ridiculous it gets.” He coughed violently. “And if you’re going to kill me, you’d better do it soon, or else my injuries will do it for you. Not that I care, since I’m dead either way. At least I’ll get to see my friends again.”

She sighed, raising her weapon once more. “I suppose I can give you a quick death.”

“That’s _so_ kind of you. And since you’re granting me that favor, one more thing. The Almyrans won’t be raiding parties. It will be an army. After all, the king has to avenge the death-”

Her eyes widened, but there was too much momentum for her to stop her axe.

“-of his son, Crown Prince Khalid.”

Claude’s head bounced on the cobblestones as it rolled away from his body.

**Author's Note:**

> so, yeah. I hate Edelgard for two reasons.
> 
> first, her sheer arrogance. She's convinced that only _she_ could _possibly_ create a better future for Fodlan. (she also thinks that she can just use the Agarthans and dispose of them when she's done. like they wouldn't be expecting that. like the rest of Fodlan would just sit there dumbly while their hated conqueror is busy with something else.)
> 
> second, her ridiculous tunnel vision. She sees her goal- a united Fodlan without crests or nobility- but not any of the side effects (widespread resentment, rebellions popping up like daisies, outside countries taking advantage of the unstable situation).
> 
> she also just... blindly accepts the history of Fodlan as told to her by the people she hates? what?
> 
> I can see why people sympathize with her. but to me? she's just an arrogant fool with a savior complex.


End file.
